Thoughts, ideas and insights directly from the ANA

July 22, 2010

The digital landscape is changing. That was no clearer than
after hearing Geoff Ramsey, CEO, Co-Founder eMarketer present at the ANA
Digital and Social Media Conference last week. The downturned economy has
decreased traditional media spend almost 20%. Marketers are being asked to do
more with less and that has meant shifting discretionary dollars to digital
initiatives.

With more than 57% of the US population participating in
social media, many companies are attempting to leverage this space, but there
is still confusion as marketers wonder if it is overrated. That is shocking
considering that Geoff did note that only 10% of companies are effectively
measuring the success of their social media programs.

While it still
may be premature to tell, that fact is this: with a 60/40 split in terms of
companies using social media to those not, you are behind the curve if you are
at least exploring how to create an authentic dialogue with your audience and
more importantly, you are at a severe competitive disadvantage if you are not
listening to the buzz about your company, products or services across social
media platforms.

With an ever-growing number of tools out there for
"listening" to what your customers have to say, there's no excuse to not be
taking advantage of this resource.
This valuable information is readily available and more importantly:
free. Whether it's listening to what words they use to describe your product or
brand or gaining a better understanding about their interests, intentions, real
or perceived problems, the insights gained from harvesting this information can
have a drastic effect on your messaging, product development and marketing
strategy.

If you are still wondering if social media is a fad, watch
this video, and make sure you listen.

July 12, 2010

Social media can be defined as "activities, practices,
and behaviors among communities of people who gather online to share
information, knowledge, and opinions using conversational media,"
according to The Social Media Bible. Just a few
months ago you might have read about Facebook’s privacy transition. With the
transition, Facebook users’ names, profile photos, gender, and hometown
suddenly became publicly available information, when previously only your name
and network were publicly available.

Now Canada has slapped Facebook with a class-action
suit saying the transition violated Canadian privacy and consumer
protection laws. The class-action suit claims that Facebook made money from its
customers’ personal data by letting third parties use it for targeted online
advertising campaigns.

How do you feel about these new privacy transitions? Do you
feel like you own the information on your Facebook page, or does Facebook own
that information?

June 02, 2010

Viral videos seem to be the “trend”
of the moment in the social media world, but will it last? Most websites from
CNN.com to HomeDepot.com are using videos for numerous reasons like
broadcasting information, tutorials, or pure entertainment. And then you have
YouTube—a video community where anyone can become an Internet star by simply
uploading a homegrown video.

Recently,
I stumbled upon craigslist
TV on YouTube.At first I wasn’t
sure if these videos were real, they look professionally produced, and the
personalities of the people in the videos seems so outlandish I thought they
had to be actors.

According
to the craigslist channel on YouTube, “craigslist tv is a new documentary series that
follows real craigslist users, in real time, as they use craigslist to make
things happen. The project remains active today. Interested craigslist users
click an opt-in button if they think their posting deserves to be seen. The
episodes in this series are the results of the project to date.”

Do you find yourself watching more videos online?
If so, what do you watch online—news, entertainment, educational tutorials?

May 26, 2010

Wired magazine is now available on the iPad via
a rich app, which enables users to read all content available in the print
edition of the magazine and enjoy
additional multi-media enhancements for $4.99 per issue. According to an article
in the May 26, 2010 edition of The New
York Times, examples of these multi-media enhancements include:

A Lamborghini Gallardos made of Legos…, which has six images in the
print magazine, is shown being constructed in the app through a slide show of
180 images that a user can scroll through like a flip-book. The two images of
Mars that ran in the print version become a rotating 3-D version on the app.

However, content published on Wired.com
will remain different and separate from the content in the printed magazine or
on the iPad. In terms of the advertisers featured in the magazine, all
advertisers who participated in the print version were part of the iPad version
as well, which launched with the June issue of Wired (pictured above).
Condé Nast, which publishes Wired,
worked with the makers of Adobe’s InDesign program for a year to develop this
app. The resulting new Adobe feature will be made available to other publishers
for purchase. According to The New York Times, this addition to
InDesign “allows the magazine’s editorial team to easily move the print design
into the iPad design and vice versa. “

Wired’s work with the iPad is an
important step for the print industry and an example as to how other magazines
can start to blend more digital content into their existing offerings. Click here to read a piece
from the ANA’s Marketing Insights Center on the future of magazines.

May 21, 2010

Social media is popular in
Pakistan with about 25 million people regular Internet users, however those 25
million people will need to live without Facebook and other social networking
sites for an indefinite amount of time.

According to an article on
CNN.com, “Pakistan is blocking access to Facebook in response to an online group
calling on people to draw the Prophet Mohammed.”The telecommunication authority in Pakistan said the site has been
blocked for an indefinite amount of time. The group could be considered offensive to devout Muslims—they
consider it disrespectful to depict Mohammed.

Originally the creator of
the Facebook group established the group as a means of protest. She was quoted in the CNN.com article as saying, “This is something I have felt strongly about for a long time: bullying
by certain Muslim groups will not be tolerated in a free country.”

Facebook responded by saying
that although the group may be considered objectionable to some people it does
not violate Facebook policies.Currently Facebook is looking into the situation.

From a marketing standpoint,
how do you think Facebook should deal with the current situation and any future
situations that may arise? Share
your thoughts!

May 12, 2010

Can a video game be used as an educational tool? The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) would like to think so. They recently developed a new campaign—an educational video game—to educate kids about marketing and advertising. The FTC launched this campaign for three main reasons: to raise awareness of advertising messages among children ages 8 to 12; teach critical thinking skills that will allow tweens to analyze and interpret advertisements; and demonstrate the benefits of being an informed consumer.

The FTC is hoping that not only will this video game help “ad-ucate” young consumers, but that it will help to enhance critical thinking skills. The campaign’s website gives teachers educational tools to help raise advertising awareness among students. For example, teachers can download a lesson that invites students to explore what advertising is, what ads do, and who’s responsible for the messages being projected in the ads.

The video game isn’t the most graphically enhanced, and with all the video-entertainment out there for tweens, I’m not sure how this will effectively hold their attention (although I’m sure they will find this video game more enjoyable then any old lesson plan). However, I think it’s a great concept, tweens should understand advertising and anything that helps to generate critical thinking skills is a plus! Test out your ad-skills at admongo.

April 16, 2010

Did you
think the tweet you wrote publicly pronouncing your love for a new product
would stay in “twitterspace” forever? The idea that tweets would slowly
dissolve into Internet space is no longer! Twitter and the Library of Congress
announced that every public tweet posted since the birth of Twitter in 2006
will be digitally archived.

According
to the Library of Congress’ Web site, “The Twitter digital archive has
extraordinary potential for research into our contemporary way of life. This
information provides detailed evidence about how technology based social networks
form and evolve over time. The collection also documents a remarkable range of
social trends,” said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington.

Only public
tweets will be archived, and even Google is getting in on the action. Google is
planning on creating an interactive archive. People can search tweets at any
point in time and ‘replay’ what people were tweeting about at that very moment!
Think historical moments like Barack Obama’s inauguration or the devastating
earthquake in Haiti.

Would you use
the Twitter archive? If so, what chatter would you like to look-up?

April 14, 2010

I maybe a
bit late to the party, but I was thinking about Tiger Woods and the hype
surrounding his decision to play at the Masters Tournament. I have to admit,
for all intents and purpose he played masterly…yeah some bad shots and he was
highly critical of his own play, but he finished Sunday tied for fourth (-11
under par). Not bad after being out of commission for more than five months,
dealing with personal and family issues.

Most
striking throughout the four-day Tigerfest, was the media and gallery’s
acceptance of Tiger. If you had spent the past five months living in a cave,
you’d never have known how nasty things got. The #1 player in the world was
back and he and his fans were basking in the glow. (Not to take anything away
from Phil Mickelson’s win, which was spectacular, well deserved and a milestone
in his career.) The Sports, marketing and armchair pundits, who earlier this
year wanted to see Tiger’s head impaled on a fairway wood, were nowhere to be
seen. Except for an errant Tiger-detractor, who paid to have a small plane fly
over Augusta National—with a not so obvious reference to Tiger’s apology speech—the
crowd loved watching his come back.

So where does this all
leave us? American’s have notoriously short memories when it comes to celebrity
misdeeds and we are certainly as forgiving when it comes to the idiotic
behavior of our star athletes. So the question is: will Tiger get some of his
old endorsements back? I’m guessing the answer is no. But a more intriguing
question may be are new endorsements right around the corner? And, who is first
in line? Anyone want to weigh in
with a guess?

By the way,
Tiger’s comeback at the Masters gave ESPN the highest U.S. audience ever for a
golf event on cable TV, as nearly 5 million people tuned in to watch Thursday’s
first round. As the
millions viewing the Master’s can attest, Tiger’s back, his fan base is strong
and shooting 11 under par last week, is a clear indication that he is capable
(which some doubted) of topping the list of golf’s superstars for some time to
come. Is this a Rod Tidwell and Jerry McGuire moment?

April 06, 2010

Advertisers in the toy industry should pay attention to a
new demographic: male ages 2-11. Yes you read that correctly, 2-11.

According to a recent Adweek article, data over a five-month period ending in
February showed significant numbers for the Food Network, “The overall male
audience for Throwdown with Bobby Flay is 36 percent, but jumps to 47 percent in the 2-11 age bracket;
overall male audience for Iron Chef America, also 36 percent, jumps to 45 percent in the 2-11
bracket. And on TLC, the audience for Cake Boss, 30 percent male overall, jumps to 36 percent among
those boys.”

It seems as if this large audience is going unnoticed—or
maybe not? After taking a quick look through a few Web sites, I noticed more cooking-toys being manufactured in primary colors rather than in pastel pink and
lavender. Another subtle difference, boys were being integrated into the
advertisements alongside girls for the toy packaging. The Adweek article, “Half Baked” explained, “Today, male
celebrity chefs are driving the current food craze and more boys than ever are
watching those shows.”

Although most of the toys are still
advertised for young girls, keep an eye on how advertisers might soon be
changing their ingredients for this stale recipe.

March 25, 2010

I mailed back my Census form today.When the results are fully tallied, it
will be exciting and enlightening to see how the demographic profile of the
country has changed. Our population has likely reached a tipping point. In 2010, births to Hispanic, Black, and
Asian women are projected to account for 50 percent of all births in the nation
and that percentage will continue to increase going forward. The Census Bureau
estimates that minorities will constitute a majority of the nation’s overall
population in about three decades and a majority of Americans under age 18 in
only one decade. The implications
to marketers are now clearer than ever before—multicultural markets are no
longer niche or “add on” segments. Rather, ethnic is the new mainstream and marketing as well as work-force
diversity must reflect that.

Smart companies such as McDonald’s, General Mills,
Coca-Cola, and State Farm are taking note and “leading with ethnic insights” (a
line used by the CMO of McDonald’s at a recent ANA conference). It’s hard to believe that there are
still companies either ignoring multicultural audiences or targeting these
groups with only token spending. Just
look at the numbers!The Hispanic
population is projected to grow 20 percent between 2000 and 2020 while the
non-Hispanic population will grow just 12 percent. And the median age of Hispanics is almost ten years younger
than the non-Hispanic population.Plus, household sizes are much bigger—Hispanic households have 5+ people
versus only 12 percent for non-Hispanics.

The new Census info should be a game changer. Marketers are encouraged to be prepared
rather than surprised by taking a hard look at the demographic data and
projections available now.